The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for facilitating installation of a pile into the ground.
In many construction projects, such as bridges, it is necessary to drive structures known as "piles" into the ground. Traditionally, what is known as a fixed lead apparatus is used to align and drive the pile into the ground. Briefly, a fixed lead apparatus consists of a fixed lead mounted to a crane. A hammer is attached to or is part of the fixed lead. The crane is moved to position the fixed lead in the area where the pile is to be driven. If the piles are to be driven through water, usually a template with pockets is welded to a cofferdam and the fixed lead is positioned over the template.
A second crane pulls or lifts a pile to the crane with the fixed lead. The crane with the fixed lead lifts or aligns the pile into position. The pile driver then commences to pound the pile into the ground. Once the pile is driven sufficiently into the ground, the fixed lead is moved to the next pocket in the template where the next pile is to be driven. Eventually, after a complete series of piles is driven, the template must be removed and a new template installed.
This fixed lead process is a time consuming process, with or without templates. In addition, two cranes are needed for this process and it is cumbersome to correct alignment should a pile go out of plumb while being driven.
No device in a single apparatus is heretofore known which is capable of picking up horizontally disposed piles and positioning them vertically for association with a pile driver.